Sunday, February 28, 2010

Boris - Vein (2006)

Vein is the sixteenth (or seventeenth) studio album by Japanese experimental doom band Boris, released as an edition of 1500 copies in October 2006. Two versions of this release exist, 1100 copies sold in the US contain one set of audio while 400 copies sold in Europe contain a completely different recording. One of their most controversial and delayed releases, it was sold for $32 USD as a single clear record with an inch-wide image screen printed along the outer edge.

Alternate recordings were confirmed shortly after its release, when various people[who?] proclaimed their Vein record had no vocals at all. While the number of tracks differ between both versions, aesthetically, the packaging is identical and the records can only be differentiated by inspecting the vinyl surface itself. One version, dubbed the "Hardcore version", has somewhat of a crust punk sound with elements of hardcore and drone. Atsuo contributed the lead vocals on this record for the first time in many[weasel words] years, with Takeshi contributing vocals in some of the songs as well. The vocals on this record are notably different from most Boris albums, as they are screamed rather than sung. The other version, dubbed the "Noise version", has one side of pure noise drone and a long punk jam drenched with feedback on the other. There are no vocals on this version.

At the very beginning of track 3 on the hardcore version the listener can hear a man say "И пусть посмеются над своими страстями" (Russian for "Let them laugh at their own passions"). This is a quote from Stalker, a 1979 film by Andrei Tarkovsky.

In the beginning of the final track on the hardcore version the listener can hear a man say "I hela mitt liv har jag väntat på det här. Hela mitt liv har varit en enda väntan på det här." in Swedish, which in English means "For my whole life I've been waiting for this. My whole life has been a waiting for this."